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 School of Geography and the Environment

Participatory methods in Romania

Participating in Nature: Communities and Protected Areas in CEE

An international symposium: 10-13 March 2008 – Bistrita, Romania

Background

Background

The enormous political, economic and social changes after the revolutions of 1989 and, later, with EU accession and membership, have huge implications for conservation of the wonderful legacy of biodiversity in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). On the positive side, there is access to new concepts and methods for involving a wider range of people, and building on local knowledge about these places; access to new funding; and a strong policy framework. On the negative side, economic difficulties have increased for local populations, increasing pressure on natural resources; and greater mobility within and between countries means that tourist pressures, and the desire to build in beautiful places, have increased. Many CEE countries have experienced a tidal wave of new legislation, often leading to overlapping and unclear property rights. And the new challenges have to be dealt with by under-resourced authorities used to hierarchical decisions, based on science – not democratic decisions based on a range of expertise and traditional knowledge.

Global move to more participatory conservation

All around the world there has been a general move from top-down decisions in conservation, to more participatory approaches. Over the last twenty years, conservation ideas have developed in three significant ways:

  • From a focus on species to a focus on ecosystems and processes
  • From linear, planned management to adaptive management
  • From centralised, hierarchical planning to participatory approaches, which recognise the value of local knowledge, local commitment to place, and traditional customs and rules for protecting resources.

By involving farmers and resource users, conservationists can help to:

  • Ensure understanding and compliance with policy
  • Exchange local knowledge, perceptions and experience
  • Motivate the development of civil society organisations committed to the protection of biodiversity.

There has also been a strong recent focus on 'citizen science' and the benefits of including volunteers in monitoring biodiversity. The benefits of participation are not simply that it provides scientists and policy makers with free data, or that it teaches scientific values to members of the public. Conservation is enriched through the wealth of local knowledge, and governance is strengthened as citizens engage with decision-making.

Adapting 'participatory conservation' to CEE contexts

How can these ideas be developed in CEE countries? The existing models for participatory conservation rely either on a strong civil society sector, as in western Europe, or semi-autonomous communities who have developed their own rules to protect the resources that they rely on for their livelihoods, as in developing countries.

There is a need for new models of participatory conservation appropriate to the conditions of CEE.

We are testing a simple but relevant model for community participation in Rodna Mountains National Park in the north of Romania. It recognises that participation is a relatively new concept for many of the stakeholders, and therefore works mostly with schools in documenting local and traditional knowledge and use of the national park, and forming eight 'Friends of Rodna Mountains' clubs. Each club consists of children of a particular age and community, and focuses on the specific interests of their school, and contributes directly to the implementation of the national park’s management plan, by selecting a specific group of plants or animals to study. The club collects and provides data to the park management team, to contribute to baseline, monitoring and management decisions.

This model works for Rodna. But what works elsewhere? We look forward to hearing from you …

Read more about this project on the project's website:'Youth participation in protected area management in Rodna Mountains, Romania'

Location

The following links give details about the region hotels and map of the city where the conference will take place

Information about the Bistrita and region

Hotel Coroana de Aur website

Hotel location

Map of Bistrita

Transport

Maps are available at: www.map24.com and www.multimap.com

If travelling by train from Bucharest (Bucuresti Nord station) you will need to travel to Bistrita or Cluj-Napoca. View train details.

Optional bus transfer between Cluj-Napoca-Bistrita – please indicate in your registration form if you require this service

Contacts

For further details contact:

Conference material